Serpentum et Draconum Historiae

In the Book on the Anatomy of living things.

They communicate by biting in a way through the cavity of the tooth. A small, long heart, representing the shape of the kidneys, adheres to the rearmost artery and is by nature very hot: for this reason, Galen taught that serpents, among other living creatures, are filled with the greatest audacity. The artery is very long, and draws its origin near the mouth, so that it appears to be under the tongue: indeed, it seems in a way to protrude over the tongue, because it itself contracts, nor does it remain in the same place, as it does in other animals. This is afterwards carried into the lung, which snakes use, in distinction to fish: for which reason Pliny noted that all parts of serpents and fish are similar, except for the lung, which nature bestowed upon serpents and not upon fish, since fish use gills in place of a lung. This lung is simple, fibrous, divided by pipes, very long, spongy, and not very close to the heart. However, snakes do not have the tongue—which the Greeks call epiglottis—placed over the artery, but they now contract, now relax the passage itself at will, and they do this so that nothing may slip down into the lung. Serpents have a stomach like a spacious intestine, similar to that of a dog, namely narrow and of a long shape. The intestine, however, lacking coils, is thin and extends long as far as the passage for excrement. For the internal organs of serpents are similar to the internal parts of lizards, but the viscera, because of the length and narrowness of the body, are so long and tight that they can scarcely be distinguished from one another. The liver, therefore, is long and simple; the spleen is small and round, such viscera as we have also observed in lizards. Bile, except in the water snake, adheres to the intestines in all serpents and is filled with a certain black, liquid excrement, just as we recently observed in a female viper. This excrement, in comparison to the physique of the animal, is very copious: wherefore Pliny rightly taught that serpents, as well as fish, abound with a copious excrement of bile. Aristotle notes that serpents lack a bladder and kidneys, just as do other things that are covered with feathers, scales, and shells, except for the tortoise. This, however, arises from the fact—according to Vincent in his Natural Mirror—that the moisture of the blood, just like that of birds, is scant; and therefore it degenerates into scales, as far as serpents are concerned, and into feathers, as far as birds are concerned. Furthermore, nature has imparted a generative power to these animals, as also to fish, even though they lack a penis and testicles. For Aristotle wrote that they lack a penis, since they do not have legs, for it is said that this has its origin from the legs. But they were not endowed with testicles because of the length of the body, but obtained a passage, in the manner of fish: since, because of the long journey, the semen would easily cool and become infertile. This often happens to those who are endowed by nature with a long penis, for which reason they are rendered infertile; since the semen, having been cooled on account of the length of the member, produces infertility. Truly, in place of the aforementioned genital parts, nature has provided these animals with two passages, which, originating from the septum, creep along the side of the spine on both sides, and both are joined together above near the spine, and thus end at the passage for excrement. These passages, at the time of mating, are seen to be full of generative fluid, and by mutual friction, white semen flows out, just as was recorded in the histories of fish. Nipples are not observed in snakes because they do not have milk, since that milky food is contained innate within the egg. The womb, or uterus, according to the opinion of Aristotle, appears bifid in all serpents, extending more lengthily from one lower passage to both sides of the spine, in which eggs are generated; and from there they are wont to exit in a continuous series. Concerning the bones of snakes, Aristotle teaches that these are of the nature of spines: wherefore the backbone is present in them, in the manner of fish. The vertebrae are cartilaginous and flexible, just as the nature of these animals demanded; namely, so that they could more easily execute whatever movements and flexions of the body. There are as many ribs in snakes as there are days that complete a month: whence Pliny enumerated thirty ribs in individual snakes.

What the lung of serpents is like.

What the stomach is like.

Liver.

Spleen.

Position of the bile.

Bk 20, ch 3.

Bk 1, On the generation of animals, ch 5.

Genital parts.

What the semen of serpents is like.

Bk 2, On the parts of animals, ch 9.

Anatomical inspection of a serpent.

Furthermore, in confirmation of those things which have thus far been explained concerning the anatomy of serpents, we shall add those things which Io. Gregorius Macer observed from the anatomical inspection of this animal, who, writing to Gesner, reported that he had found in a killed serpent, first between the skin and the flesh, a certain thin and rather fatty membrane, which nevertheless descended with the skin itself. Secondly, while cutting the animal, when he had reached the passage for excrement, he unwillingly smelled feces with a most foul odor, surpassing human excrement. Once the skin was removed, he saw that the internal members were in part common to birds, in part to fish. For the windpipe, marked by small and slender rings for the length of four fingers, descended as far as the lung, to which the heart and the bile sac adhered.